Expanded DescriptionDead Space 2 is a sci-fi survival-horror sequel, following the continuing travails of the unfortunate Isaac Clarke. In the lonely role of a sole survivor on a deep-space station, players use commandeered firearms and makeshift traps to overcome a relentless onslaught of gruesome mutant space zombies. The game is set on a large, heavily populated space station called the Sprawl, where the hero was taken to recover from the terrors he experienced in the first adventure. The soul-wrenching malady that devastated the base he was sent to explore in the first game seems somehow to have followed Isaac to his haven in the second adventure, however, and the Sprawl is soon infested with Necromoprhs -- hideously mutated creatures, single-mindedly devoted to death and destruction.

Knowing firsthand the merciless evil he faces, Isaac is more aggressive in his second adventure, focusing not only on his own survival, but also on destroying as many Necromorph monsters as he can along the way. Once again, the deep-space, zero-gravity environments create unusual third-person action challenges, and also provide opportunities for clever cause-and-effect sequences, such as blasting through an airlock so that deadly enemies are pulled helplessly into the vacuum of space. As he progresses through the adventure, Isaac can gain custom upgrades to his attributes and special abilities, and he can also make use of a powered-up javelin, to impale monsters and pin them to the wall. Defeated enemies whose corpses are left behind have a tendency to revive, and attack with renewed fervor unless they are completely dismembered, adding to the graphic ghastliness.

As in the first game -- and most great survival-horror adventures -- the fear and tension in Dead Space 2 are intensified by dynamic audio, creepy video effects, and other atmospheric techniques. The sequel was developed by Visceral Games, formerly known as EA Redwood Shores, the studio that created the original Dead Space.